Children of Heaven (1997)
Director: Majid Majidi
Country: Iran
Storyline:
Ali takes his little sister Zahra's shoes to the shoemaker to be repaired but loses them on the way home. The siblings decide to keep this a secret from their parents out of fear of punishment and knowing that there is no money to buy a replacement. They devise a plan to share Ali's sneakers: Zahra will wear them in the morning and hand them to Ali at midday so he can attend afternoon classes. Ali then enters a high-profile children's racing competition in hopes of receiving the third-prize, a new pair of sneakers.
Kes (1969)
Director: Ken Loach
Country: United Kingdom
Storyline:
Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old Yorkshire boy from a working-class family, finds peace in taming and training his pet kestrel falcon, Kes. With encouragement from his English teacher, Mr Farthing, and his fellow students, Billy eventually discovers a positive purpose to his unfortunate existence, until tragedy strikes.
